Glen Farley has covered the Patriots for The Enterprise since the Raymond Berry regime.

Highest 1 p.m. rating of 2012 for Patriots

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By Glen Farley

Glen Farley has covered sports for The Enterprise since 1978. His time on the Patriots beat dates back to the final year of the Raymond Berry regime, 1989. You could say his roots lie in Foxboro. He once won an award for a piece he wrote on the sod
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Glen Farley has covered sports for The Enterprise since 1978. His time on the Patriots beat dates back to the final year of the Raymond Berry regime, 1989. You could say his roots lie in Foxboro. He once won an award for a piece he wrote on the sod at Gillette Stadium.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – On Sunday, Dec. 2, the New England Patriots took the field against the Miami Dolphins with a chance to clinch their fourth straight AFC East Championship.

With a division crown on the line in early December, Sunday’s game received an impressive 36.21 household television rating in the Boston market and marked a Patriots’ season-high for 1:00 pm ET television ratings.

The game also received a season-high household share of 66. The household share of 66 means that on average 66 percent of all televisions in use in the Boston market during the game were tuned in to the Patriots.

The Patriots have now drawn household ratings of over 30 in every game of the 2012 season. This marks the first time in franchise history that the team has received plus-30 ratings in every game throughout the first 12 games of the season.

While the Patriots never trailed Miami on Sunday, the Dolphins were able to keep the game close throughout the afternoon. With New England leading 17-3 late in the first half, Dolphins rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill scored on a 2-yard touchdown run with 25 seconds left in the second quarter to cut the Patriots’ lead to seven. The two teams traded field goals twice in the second half, but the Dolphins were never able to close the gap and the Patriots left South Florida with a 23-16 victory.

Sunday’s win gave the Patriots their 10th AFC East Championship in 12 years and marked the fourth consecutive year that New England has won the division title. This week, the Patriots (9-3) return home to face the Houston Texans (11-1) on Monday Night Football, their first prime time game at Gillette Stadium this year.